While the debate continues to rage as to whether it is to early for a film about September 11th, or whether or not one should ever be made about the subject, Paul Greengrass's United 93 has made it to the big screen. Whether or not you choose to judge it on its cinematic merits or as a tribute to those who died on board, this is an extremely powerful and hugely impressive film. Greengrass has managed to sidestep any possible criticism by simply producing an excellent movie, one which takes the theory of a passenger fightback and gives us an idea of what possibly went on aboard the flight, and the resulting unplanned crash hundreds of miles from its target.
While it could have become a mawkish take on the lives and deaths of its subjects, giving us happy snapshots of home life and playing to our emotions at every turn, Greengrass's screenplay is surprisingly straight and to the point. Opening scenes showing the terrorists prayers and preperations, alongside the passengers arrival at the airport, is an obvious opening montage, but Greengrass then veers away from them as he takes in the full sweep of what happened in the hour or so leading up to the attacks, and the utter shock and confusion felt by everyone present. From the first second Air Traffic Control loses contact with American Airlines 11 you have a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach and chills down your spine. That feeling does not go away until long after you have left the cinema.
The almost unknown cast does a tremendous job adhering to Greengrass's frank take on the events. With so many people involved both on the plane and on the ground names become irrelevant and deeds the only thing that matter. Filmed through at a very brisk pace you get a true sensation of what it was to be intimately involved in the hijacking of a plane, and the terror and confusion that follows. As the realization of what their fate will truly be becomes apparant, the characters do not suddenly become super-human. There are still those unwilling or unable to accept the turn of events, and Greengrass does a wonderful job of showing that a few passangers, armed with the knowledge of what they have to do, are able to turn the tables on their foes, and the sacrifice they make in doing so.
This is not a soap opera account of United Flight 93. Looking back on what you thought and felt on September 11th 2001 you will see yourself reflected in the characters within the film. Nobody really knew what to expect and how to act once the unthinkable occurred, and nobody really knows what happened aboard the planes before they crashed. If they were only half as dramatic and brave as those shown then America owes a debt of gratitude to those who did not live to see the next day. |
